Diversity has been a popular justification for immigration. And like many, I believe that diversity has made America great. However, diversity is not the sole factor. Unlike many countries, America has had a relatively stable government, ensured by a well codified set of civil and case laws, the U.S. Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. This blessing has produced a stable market system and allowed for the accumulation of wealth.

When doling out credit, the media likes to point out that many of America’s smartest and greatest were immigrants or children of immigrants. They conveniently forget to mention the many failures of immigration. Many immigrants leave America to return to their homeland. Many immigrants fester in an America that is less glamorous than the one they saw on television. These immigrants do not share the American dream. The ones that succeed are the ones that commit. They become Americans. So instead of saying:

Many of America’s smartest and brightest were immigrants or children of immigrants

, perhaps the media should say:

Many of America’s smartest and brightest were first or second generation Americans.

Regardless of what we call them to prove our point, many immigrants are hard-working, decent people. And we were to make decisions solely with our hearts, I believe that many would be accepted, regardless of their entry. However, because we consider ourselves rational men not just beasts, we must reason with our minds, not with our hearts.

America has been a nation of laws. Rational thought and rational principles like “consent of the governed” form the basis for our judicial system. A common respect for the law form the basis for our enforcement system. Our legal system does not have any allowance for immigration that is illegal. In fact, the two are antithetical by definition. We are either a nation of laws or claim to be. We can either follow the law or ignore it. We can either be Americans or claim to be. And if we choose the former over the latter, then sanctioning something illegal and as massive as “undocumented” immigration delegitimizes our system. It challenges our fundamental principles that no one is above the law and that the government’s right to govern is rooted in legitimate sources. It is a legal conundrum, an ideological trap.

America cannot have illegal immigration. The left’s argument is an emotional, legal implausibility. The right’s is rational and wholly justified. Compared to the questionable arguments presented by the left, there are other more concrete arguments supporting the administration’s tougher stance on illegal immigration, none of which media has mentioned.

I find this simple abstract argument to be the most thought-provoking however.